8. Robinsons Galleria

Location: Manila, Philippines

In the ‘90s, an urban legend began to spread across the Philippines that Robinsons Galleria – an upscale shopping mall in Manila – was haunted by a taong ahas: a half-snake, half-human monster descended from the mall’s founder. Lurking beneath dressing rooms, the monster supposedly dragged beautiful women through trapdoors to be eaten.

Superstitions surrounding the mall became so strong that customers refused to go into dressing rooms alone, and the rumour only intensified after local celebrity Alice Dixson claimed she had been attacked by the snake – though she later confirmed it was a joke, and even starred in an ad poking fun at the mall’s hauntings. In a bid to quell the bad PR, a member of the family which owns Robinsons put forth a challenge to the world: if you can find the taong ahas, then the entire Galleria will be yours.